There isn't much to report on. Seems as I move into the late Autumn months and into Winter the less I wish to do. In fact, in some of the recent days, I haven't gone outside at all.
To backtrack a bit, Carol is in California. Her sister isn't doing well and, sadly, only has a month or two left. Carol is spending time with her. She'll be there until the 14th and come back here for just a week. She had a ticket for the 20th through the 3rd already. We had thought she could just fly down now, because Allida's family asked her to come down when she took a turn for the worse, and then fly back on the 3rd and just not use the ticket for the 20th.
Nope!! The airline said if she didn't use the first leg of the round trip ticket then the second leg was null and void. So Carol had to buy a ticket down and then come back for a short break before she flew down again to spend Christmas with her sister.
Regardless, it is good that she is able to spend some time with her sister.
And, without Carol, there aren't many excuses to get out and about. And I haven't, really.
Quick segue: King Tides have been the thing lately. This shot, taken November 23rd shows how high the tide has risen. A King Tide is an unusually high tide. Like this.
And the foul weather.
Last year was such a dismal year. It was a difficult year last year with plenty of rain, storms and gray, dismal days. I remember just being out of sorts for pretty much the whole of the Winter. And it didn't let up. Spring pretty much reeked, as well.
I thought I'd shaken it off but as the Autumn approached I could feel myself getting more...blue? In a funk. And, even though the weather was definitely better than last year, I wasn't able to totally shake the deep blue funk.
And so, feeding into my miasma of "Wah-Wah-Wah", I got these shots of the foul weather fouling my day. And a little bit of a high tide.
Ka-Boom!!
Hahahaha, another quick segue...feeling a bit of cabin fever, I used an excuse of needing to go shopping to head for the Walmart in Dallas rather than the usual Walmart down in Newport.
The neat thing, although it is nearly twice as far, is that the route we take to get to the Dallas Walmart takes us through some beautiful country and, ta-da, by the Baskett Slough. And, what the hell? It was time for a change and who knows what we'll see.
And the weather was crappy. It was still a beautiful drive...there's something about fog that lends mystery to and gives an aura of quiet and interesting secrets to any scene.
And, boy howdy!! That was what we got...in spades.
A cool and dull day but enlivened by the color of the fog.
I should have brought out the tripod for these shots but it was too chilly and I am too lazy.
When I say chilly I mean the kind that burrows deep down into your bones kind of chill. I was not dressed appropriately. It had been slightly warmer along the coast than it was this far inland.
We were not prepared.
Still, I did have some fun playing with the panoramic feature on the Nikon.
Here's a lonely Carol, shivering, while waiting on me to get done.
Hahahaha, I could 'see' the possibilities but I was too chilled to make the effort.
Seriously, this day called for a tripod, patience and thinking. None of which I was interested in. I came, I shivered, I left.
But we did spot some birds while we were there and, once again, I shot them in low light with a hand-held camera.
Oh, the laziness. Sometimes I astound myself.
Totally.
Really pushing it.
Most of the pics of this fine fellow were blurry and immediately consigned to the trash heap of history.
So we drove over to one of our favorite spots for birding. There was another fellow there with an elaborate and obviously tres expensive camera system...I mean his lens alone was a little over half as long as my arm!!
Anyway, he was there shooting and when we spotted this guy we thought, "Eagle"!! But Big Lens Guy took one glance and preemptively dismissed our observations by haughtily informing us that was just another run-of-the-mill red-tailed hawk.
Oh.
Well, if he's got that big-ass lens he must be all-knowing and so we said, "Wow!! That's one Big-Ass Hawk, then." and went happily along our way.
When we got the pictures downloaded we discovered it was, indeed, an eagle. A immature eagle but eagle it was!!
Hahahaha, life lessons - All the expensive gear in the world can't make you right when you're wrong.
Here's my desire, after alllllll these years, to photograph lines, angles, patterns.
I took my shot...and missed. But I will persist. I will.
And, out in the pond, these fellows were co-existing quite well.
And safely. We could hear the occasional 'BOOM' of the shotguns across the slough. These guys are totally safe in this particular pond because of its proximity to the dirt road and the birders that came by.
Smart!!
Just an ugly and drab day.
Whup!!
Here we go again.
Can you see the potential!?! It's there, I swear!! I just need to find it.
What is it Cartier-Bresson says?
"To me, photography is the simultaneous recognition, in a fraction of a second, of the significance of an event as well as of a precise organization of forms which give that event its proper expression."
— Henri Cartier-Bresson
Henri called it, "The Decisive Moment". I read about him long, long ago and his 'Decisive Moment' has haunted me ever since. I seem to keep missing it. But I persevere
We drove on over to the viewing stand just off Highway 22 and finally found some hint of color. Again, I recognize that I could have marginally improved my pictures had I brought out that stupid tripod and actually used it.
But I didn't.
And then we saw, across the way, this red-tailed hawk. He was busy preening himself but we did get to visit with him for a bit.
Coolio.
And an egret. Hahaha, several years ago the spotting of an egret was a huge event and now? Now it's, "Oh, there's an egret (yawn), over there."
Another day and another shot of the King Tides...they ranged over a couple of days.
Hahaha, I like the panorama feature. Interesting results.
We went for a walk through an Open Space over by Siletz Bay. Another time I just wanted to get out and so we drove on over just for the walk. And the weather was good. Hooah.
No real good pictures but I caught this one of Carol and particularly like it. Her expression is, well, she described it as guilty like she got caught doing something she shouldn't have.
I think of it more as whimsical. Playful.
Regardless, it was a nice moment and I captured it.
POW
Let's flip on over to Taft.
Carol and I went to a meeting for a new member orientation for Kiwanis. We were there because we're the sponsors of the new members and...yada, yada, yada.
The meeting was held in the Mo's Restaurant right on the Bay. When we were done we found this sunset waiting for us.
I had my little camera and while we were walking towards the pier to view the sunset, I caught these shots.
Really easy and, honestly, kinda nice. The only thing I really did was to move so I put the sun in between the two figures in the center.
Woo, woo!! My artistic self is exploding!!
Hahaha, sometimes I even surprise myself.
And here I outdid myself.
I actually zoomed in!!
I know!! Radical!!
And on a small side note, when I got to the sidewalk where these two were, I showed them the picture on the camera and told them they'd be my new cover picture. They weren't overly impressed.
But I still kept on snapping away.
There were plenty of opportunities.
(I know this is getting to be an old lament, but...) If only I had my bigger cameras and that doggone pesky tripod. Hahahaha, if only I weren't so lazy and it would be nice to be able to see into the future.
And, exercising my artistic senses, I would focus and lock on to a different part of the scene to affect the exposure (how the cameras sensors read the light and adjusted the f-stop and shutter speed).
I was able to stop the exposure down a bit to deepen the colors. I could have used the exposure compensation feature to adjust the color saturation as well. Hahahaha, slow down, Speed Racer!!
And I loves me some silhouettes. Hahaha, Cartier-Bresson, where are you and your damn "Decisive Moment"!!
Again with the artistic reading of the light to deepen the colors.
And not a bad composition. Just lacks a spark of some kind. It's blah.
And because I likes me some pics to establish location, I turned around and got this contextual picture. Gots to know where I am.
I was trying for the gull flying across the sky but I was too slow. Hahaha, I see the perfect picture (aka The Decisive Moment) but by the time I get the camera up, focused and ready to shoot...the moment has fled.
Still, I was thinking the gull flying a bit more over the area where the sun was setting would have been a bit cooler. A bit...
Off to a Taft High School Football Game!!
Hooah!! Goooooo, Tigers!!
Carol and I went to a game. I had thought I'd go to several of them but events conspired to prevent me (rain, commitments, laziness) and so this was the last game of the season and, ta-da!! I made it.
And the Tigers won. I think it was the second game of the season that they did win and, hey, I was there.
Plus I likes me some nachos and hot dogs at games.
Tigers Bleed Black and Orange!!
It wasn't a particularly nice day but I was feeling, once again, the need to do something. Didn't really matter where but I was feeling a bit of Cabin Fever.
I'd seen an article and it talked about a Ghost Town over near Toledo and so I called Carol and said, "Road Trip!!" She was game and so we took off.
The deal was to drive the back roads to get there and then come back via The 101. It's fun to explore the road less taken. It does make all the difference.
And, safely, I got a couple mediocre shots through the windshield.
The call of the open road.
You can see it wasn't much of a day for sight-seeing. I go back to the ol' fog makes things interesting but, after a while, even fog gets a bit tiresome.
It's a shame I've got that damn sciatica. It's also a shame I am not rich. I'd be on the road...a lot.
There's an allure there...an indefinable something that calls me. At least until my leg starts hurting from sitting for a while.
I'd like to do a series of 'Road' shots. Hahahaha, like wish in one hand and...well, you know.
Adventures in Cooking!!
Chicken Sausage Biscuit Breakfast Bake.
It was fun, it was tasty and it was, like, five meals.
So, this is my version. Scroll down for the Pro version.
Their version. Not too far off the mark. Mine's, obviously, been cooked just a bit longer than their's.
Hahaha, that's why it's an adventure!!
Got this when I took Carol to the airport to fly down to California.
Hahahaha, bottom line, I always have fun being with Carol.
What's a bored old man to do?
Hahaha, take pictures using his B&W setting.
All the people I know are doing this challenge thingie...
"I have been challenged by Blah-Blah. 7 days, 7 b/s pictures of my life. No people. No explanation. No worries. Day 6/7. I challenge So-and-So.
I keep on waiting for the challenge so I can modestly defer and then, BAM, I murder it with SEVEN kick-ass pictures. Hahahahaha, that's my thought anyway.
It'd work a bit better if someone would only challenge me. Not happening...yet. So one afternoon, while I was pouting over NOT being challenged, I went ahead and took this shot.
See!! I could do it if...
Hahaha, "No people. No explanation. No worries."
And, so far, no challenges, either. I think I'll just go ahead and do the whole seven days...just in case.
In my on-going quest to live just a little bit longer, I've taken a membership in the Community Center Fitness Center and, surprisingly, I've been pretty diligent about going. I've actually been to the gym 21 times so that means, so far, each visit has cost me $2.86.
Hahahaha, I'm gonna get my money's worth out of this!!
So I drove over to the gym the day after Thanksgiving, Carol was sleeping in, and didn't notice anything amiss on the stretch of The 101 outside of the Dorchester House.
Less than an hour later, when I was coming back I decided to stop by Carol's for a hot cuppa and noticed this car parked a little oddly, up on the sidewalk and all. Someone had hit it.
I went up to Carol's, had my cuppa and visited and then, as I was leaving I asked Carol if she had seen the wreck out in front.
ZAP!!
She was mobilized and we were out the door in a flash. Hahaha, nothing like a small wreck to pique a girl's interest.
We stood there marveling at it for a while and then, while Carol was snapping these pictures, I got to wondering why it was still here, up on the sidewalk. So I called the PD and asked if anyone had reported the accident.
Turns out no one had. The fellow who did it stopped for just a moment, left something with wrong information on it, and then motored away.
So in the less than an hour I was at the gym, the scoundrel had struck and left. Hit the parked car on The 101 and then scuttled away into the dark like the rat he is.
The cops eventually came and I gave them my story along with the time frames and, just like that, my duty as a conscientious Citizen was done.
Turns out the live-in manager, Sylvia, was in the process of buying the car from the heir of one of the women who had recently passed away at the Dorchester. Oops. I haven't heard how all that has worked out. I imagine the car was totaled. The left rear wheel was really pushed in and I'm sure it wrecked the axle and frame.
A shame.
Memory Lane.
Yesterday was December 7 and so I pulled a couple pictures out of my albums and posted them in remembrance of my Dad.
I wish I had not been so self-centered and immature back then. I would loved to have sat him down and pulled out the whole story of his experience during the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Ah, dammit.
Dad was pointing out some feature on this model of the U.S.S. Arizona.
Missed opportunities.
But I didn't miss this one!! I've long looked at the Canon G3 X but couldn't afford it. It's over $950 brand new.
Yesterday I saw where Canon was selling 'refurbished' G3s for just $499.95. I fell and I fell hard. I bought it.
Hahahaha, how many cameras can a boy own? I don't know but it's easily at least four...probably more.
I'm excited about it. Hopefully it will arrive before I leave for California and I can use it over the Christmas visit with Amy and her kids. Hopefully.
Hahahaha, it's for real!! AND!! I get a "Deluxe Leather Case" with it...FOR FREE!!
That sealed the deal, I tell ya!!
I got the Tracking Information today and they say it should be here by Monday. Woo, hoo!!
There it is. I've been dealing with a hard case of ennui and getting by. I am disappointed at how easy it is for me to sit on my can and let life slip on by.
What I've learned is that I can live alone quite easily. It's probably, given the man I am, the best option. However, I have learned that I am not the adventurer when I am by myself. I like company on my little jaunts. Without someone I am, nearly 99% of the time, going to find an excuse not to go.
I learned that lesson the hard way when I visited Ireland. I was sitting, by myself, in the Guiness Brewery, having learned the proper way to draw a draught and I was suddenly struck by how alone I was. Everyone else there had someone to share the experience with and I, well, I was by myself.
I almost cried I felt so badly. I just got up and left. Didn't finish my beer, just walked out.
Tough lesson to learn. But I've learned it well. Now I've just got to figure out how to work around it. Hahahaha, I've got enough cameras to help so maybe with this new one I'll get off my ass and get out somewhere. But, honestly, I am too boring to spend much time with just myself.
Hahahaha, First World Problems. I'll get over it.
And so, like the Beatles song says, "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da, life goes on, Brah"
Hooah!!
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